Your 2014 Travel Gift Wish List

It doesn’t matter if you travel for business or pleasure, there’s always another gadget that you’d love to have or a piece of gear you want to test out.As someone who embraces the title of “explorer,” I have a never-ending travel gift wish list of tools and toys that will make my travel adventures more rewarding.

If you have someone like me on your holiday shopping list, here are a variety of items that I think anyone will love and enjoy while on the road.

I made a decision to avoid luggage since that is a very personal decision and there are an infinite number of factors to consider. If curious my personal choices are currently an Eagle Creek Tarmac 22 for longer trips and a GORUCK GR1 or GR2 for shorter travel.

Sure, we all have our phones that can take pictures, but having something more powerful is a great option. As a Samsung Imagelogger, I’ve had the luxury of trying out their full line of cameras and this is the one that goes with me on every trip.

It is compact in size, comes with an interchangeable lens, a long lasting battery and is available in a variety of colors. The camera also makes taking a selfie at any beautiful location super simple with a flip up screen that insures a great photo every time. Finally, the built in Wi-Fi allows you to quickly transfer any photo directly to your smartphone to post and share online.

The only problem when traveling with lots of technology is all the chords and extra batteries you find yourself with. There are many options out there to help you stay organized.

GORUCK is a veteran owned company that I’m a big fan of and this little organizer never leaves my bag. It has three separate compartments and folds flat when open or closed. I can quickly see what I need and get right to it. My personal trick is to always leave a second set of cables in this so that it’s always ready to go when I need to pack.

There are plenty of wireless Bluetooth speakers on the market and I’ve tried lots of them. The Mini Jambox might be cute with all of the colors it comes in and compact size, but you’ll soon forget about that when you hear the high-quality sound.

A full charge lasts long enough for most trips and it won’t take up much space in your luggage. I love having it to play music in my room or in the park if I go for a walk and don’t want to deal with headphones.

Every traveler hates running out of power and for years my Mophie has never let me down.

They make a variety of battery cases for specific phones, but I prefer having one of their Powerstations with me so that I can charge any device that needs it. Mine has recharged cameras, tablets and my phone on more occasions than I can remember.

You never know when you’re going to want to open a bottle of something while on the road. That’s why I have one of these clips to the outside of my backpack. They don’t draw any attention and they come in handy to clip things together and open that frosty beverage at the end of a long day.

You hope nothing will ever go wrong during your travels, but isn’t it better to be prepared?

This great invention folds up flat and charges via a tiny solar panel. With the push of a button and a few breaths to inflate the bag you’ll find yourself with a light whenever you need it. Plus, when you order one, you can also have one donated to a family in need.

My friends know that I’ve got a bit of an addiction to notebooks and Field Notes are my personal favorite.

This unique gift will have seasonal notebooks delivered four times during the upcoming year. Each season is unique and different and I always look forward to seeing what they can come up with. This past year, my favorite was the Shelterwood Edition which had a solid cover!

Long flights were always worse before I had a tablet. Now, no matter how long the flight is I have a variety of distractions to keep me going.

I don’t own a mini yet, but am eager for one because I like the compact size better than the full-size one I have now. Mine is always loaded up with books to read, television shows or movies to watch and a few games to provide distractions.

Plus, since I love to travel light, there are times when I’ll leave my laptop at home and get by just fine with only my iPad.

These are essential for keeping your suitcase or backpack organized when traveling.

They’re available in a variety of shapes and colors so that you can put together a system that works for you. Plus, if you need to keep business shirts or blouses from getting overly wrinkled check out their Pack-It Folders.

Honestly, even if you weren’t reading this here I’d still include it as a great gift. I’ve been a paying member for years and I know I’ve gotten more value out of it than I pay for it! While I hate flight delays or gate changes as much as anyone, I at least get to smile a bit when TripIt Pro notifies me on my phone before the airline does and I get to play the “how long until they tell everyone else” game.

Whatever holiday you’re celebrating this year, I hope that you have happy travels and receive some great travel goodies from those you love.

About the Author

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more multi-faceted or enthusiastic creative/strategic partner in the marketing and content creation fields. This greatly hails from C.C.’s unstoppable combination of marketing experience and savvy (which a great many professionals claim to have), and incalculably valuable “on the ground” knowledge and insight as an influential content creator himself (which a great many professionals do not).
The result is a best-of-both-worlds mashup of marketing expertise. C.C. Chapman sports the pro cred to be a talker (working closely with such clients as American Eagle Outfitters, Coca-Cola, HBO and Warner Bros.), and the passion and gumption to be a doer (creating content for the emerging Online Dad market, marketing professionals, music fans and more). He’s helped create, manage and execute ambitious online and offline marketing campaigns for startups and multinationals — and has the invaluable good sense to know which outreach strategies work with audiences, and which ones fall flat.
He authoritatively speaks your language. He speaks your CMO’s language. Most important, he’s fluent in your market’s language. It’s a killer double-chocolate-and-peanut-butter combination. Contact C.C. to learn how he can help your organization achieve its business goals.
There’s even more to know about C.C. Chapman, if you want to read it — and you should. C.C.’s skills are an embarrassment of riches.